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Sébastien Bourdais says he trying to understand the car a little better. Photo by LAT Photographic

IndyCar teams forced to conserve aero kit parts at open test

23 car/driver combinations in Phoenix

February 9, 2018

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With a limited supply of universal aero kit parts, and desert debris that cut some of the tires during Friday’s two three-hour test sessions at ISM Raceway, Verizon IndyCar Series teams have to be extra cautious during the two-day open test.

There were 23 car/driver combinations at the 1.022-mile short oval, all sponsored and ready to go. Because of the extra teams that have joined the series, boosting the car count over previous seasons, Dallara is trying to keep up with the demand for the new parts that make up the universal aero kit.

Many of the cars at the open test have the parts to complete a full race car. That means the test must go flawlessly, because spare parts are in high demand and short supply.

In a normal preseason open test, teams have a specific checklist of objectives to click off over the 12 hours of track time spread out over two days. But the No. 1 priority this weekend at ISM Raceway is to be cautious while gaining as much information about the car as possible.

“I want to leave this place with a car with four wheels on it,” Sébastien Bourdais said. “That would be great. There is not a single spare. We are still waiting on kits we were supposed to get a while back. It’s pretty worrisome to get to a two-day test on a 1-mile oval under those circumstances. I know everybody is in the same boat.

“I’m trying to understand the car a little better, but goal No. 1 is going to stay in everybody’s mind this weekend.”

But even the top teams have to be extra careful at this test.

Alexander Rossi won the 100th Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 2016. The Andretti Autosport driver made dramatic improvement in his second season in 2017 and is considered a strong championship contender this season.